Straw-cutter



t e e h S W e e h s 2 L H T N m PW m A S J (No Model.)

No. 594.074. Patented Nov. 23', 1897 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)-

' J. A. FRENZEL.

STRAW CUTTER.

No. 594,074. Patented Nov. 23, 1897.

VIII/IA m W WWI/(4 9 mums FUERS co. PHOTO-UTNQ" WASHINGTON n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. FRENZEL, OF WAUSAU, WISCONSIN.

STRAW-QUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,074, dated November 23, 1897. Application filed August 14,1896. Serial No. 602,715. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN A. FRENZEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of WVausau, in the county of Marathon and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw-Cutters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, strong, and economical straw-cutter; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth with reference'to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of a straw-cutter embodying my improvements; Figs. 2 and 3, side elevations illustrating the gearing and certain other features of the machine; Fig. 4, a vertical transverse section indicated byline 4 4 in the first figure, the upper feed-roller being broken; and Fig. 5, a horizontal section illustrating the lower feed-roller and its shifting mechanism.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents the box of my improved straw-cutter, mounted on a suitable frame that also supports castings in the form of plates B 0, constituting front extensions of the box sides.

Openings 5 c in plates B C are engaged by the journals cl 6 of a lower feed-roller D, the opening I) in plate B being elongated for the purpose hereinafter specified.

The shear-plate E has ears f extending through openings in the plates B O, and these shear-plate ears are bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to horizontal lateral bottom flanges of said plates, at rest on longitudinal upper timbers F of the frame.

The plates B O are also provided with bearings for the arbor G of a knife-cylinder 1-1, and a knife-shield I rests on the machineframe against a cover-plate J, connecting the former plates.

A spur-wheel K, fast on journal 61 of the feed-roller D, is brought in and out of mesh with a pinion L, fast on the arbor G of knifecylinder H, by means of a bell-crank lever M, f ulcrumed on a stud extending laterally from a bracket N on a longitudinal upper timber of the machine-frame, an arm of the lever being connected by a link P with said feedroller j 0urnal,and the plate-opening b or bearing for this journal is elongated to provide for the necessary play. Any suitable power may be employed to rotate arbor G of the knife-cylinder, and from the foregoing it will be understood that While the rotation of said cylinder is continuous that of the lower feedroller is intermittent at the will of the operator of the machine.

Fast on the journal 6 of feed-roller D is a pinion Q, in mesh with an idler-pinion R, loose on a stud g, extending laterally from the plate 0 above specified. Another idlerpinion S is loose on a lateral stud h of plate 0 in mesh with the former idler-pinion and another pinion T, the latter being fast to a j ournal 2' of the upper feed-roller U of the machine. Hence it will be seen that power transmitted to the lower feed-roller D is conveyed to the upper feed-roller and that these rollers are also caused to rotate in opposite. directions, as is usual in the art.

The journals 2' i of feed-roller U engage vertically-disposed curvilinear slots j in the plates B O, constituting front extensions of the feed-box, and said journals'have their bearings in angular vertically-disposed hangers V for a pressure-plate W, that comes forward of the upper feed-roller approximately parallel to the shear-plate E, and link-arms m of a rocker-bar X, journaled in brackets n, depending from the timbers F of the machineframe, connect with the lower ends of the hangers. Suspended from a hook-arm p of the rocker-bar X is a support q for a lever Y, pivoted to a transverse timber of the machine-frame, and a weight Z is adjustable longitudinally of the lever to vary the pressure of plate W, above specified.

By having the journals of feed-roller'U engaged with the vertically-disposed curvilinear slots j in the plates B 0 said roller is free to play up and down without getting out of gear, inasmuch as the pinion'T travels on idler-pinion S, in mesh therewith, when the automatic adjustment of the aforesaid roller takes place.

The pressure-plate W is connected to its hangers by means of lateral ears 1", that engage corresponding apertures in said hangers, and these cars have their play in verticallydisposed recesses s in the plates B O, constituting front extensions of the box sides. Apertured lugs 25, rising from said pressure-plate at the rear thereof, are engaged by arms u of a cover-plate W, in hinge connection with the plates B O, and said cover-plate is free to rise and fall with said pressure-plate.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a straw-cutter, the combination of the upper feed-roller having its journals engaged with guide-slots, hangers constituting bearings for said journals, a pressure-plate having ears that engage guide-recesses and connect with the hangers, a hinged cover-plate 

